"I'm gonna come after you. I'm going to find out who the spy is in this class
and in ET 2 and I'm going to get you to the letter of the law and have you either kicked out
or whatever other consequences they can do to you in terms of doing this. Got it?"
-- Jim Keeshen

"Lying is better than not lying."
-- AET Professor Jim Keeshen

"What I have found is that SMC has been plagued with budget
instability for the past several years ... What this means is that the college
has been spending about $6 million more than it takes in ... If we continue
down this road, we face serious financial consequences-even bankruptcy."
-- SMC President Chui L. Tsang

"The Complaint contains allegations of misappropriation of student funds and property, illegal fees, abuse of process, and various unconstitutional activities by Defendants with the goal of suppressing dissent and avoiding auditing and oversight by non-conspirators. The Defendants have a history of such activities. The findings of the PERB were that the Santa Monica Community College District, which would include all defendants in this case, were found to have violated state statutes regarding expenditure of funds and activities undertaken to intimidate and suppress the faculty's opposition to the administration."

"Defendants have obtained this control through racketeering activities, including but not limited to: (a) The extortion of property, such as restricted accounts for the defendants' personal use. (b) Robbery or the conversion of Student funds. (c) Bribery of student officials. (d) As well as multiple violations of the Hobbs Act (18 U.S.C. § 1951) that include (i) exerting outside pressure through undue influence and coercision so as to control business decisions, and (ii), the taking of the Student bookstore and other commerce. Defendants' acts of racketeering activity have been unceasing for over fifteen (15) years."

"We have recognized that the university is a traditional sphere of free expression so fundamental to the functioning of our society that the Government's ability to control speech within that sphere by means of conditions attached to the expenditure of Government funds is restricted by the vagueness and overbreadth doctrines of the First Amendment."

If you're new to the site, please start by reading our MISSION STATEMENT which gives an overview of the problems at Santa Monica College (see below right).

NOTE: This is the new SAVE SMC PHP Beta Test Page [version 2.0]. We are in the process of overhauling the entire website. To make it more user friendly, we're redesigning the pages with cascading stylesheets as well as converting the site and blog articles into a searchable PHP database. Begin by reading our site Overview or MySpace FAQ Page.

Here are a few examples of quotes and comments from various faculty, staff, and students at Santa Monica Community College. This is only the surface of the deep underlying problems that have plagued the campus over the last several decades.

"The true story of Santa Monica College under the current administration and the current Board of Trustees is a cautionary tale for the future of publicly funded institutions of higher education." -- CSEA Accreditation Self Study Addendum (2004)

"I have noticed more and more of an oppressive feeling of gloom on the campus. Morale is sinking farther. I have not spoken to many people in my travels across the campus who are generally happy in their working lives here at SMC." -- SMC Classified Senate President's Report (1999)

"The Board of Trustees clearly shows disregard for the public interest. ... Way too much waste and irresponsible spending. ... Integrity? I don't think they know what that is." -- CSEA Survey Comments

"The last ten years at SMC have been marked by a no confidence vote, lawsuits, labor strife, conflicts with the community over property acquisitions, deep cuts in employees and services, budget squeezes, and an ever growing cadre of management. Meanwhile, SMC’s two-faced public relations machine continued to make cheery proclamations on the one hand and to spew budget doom on the other." -- Lantz Simpson, SMC Faculty Association President (April 2006, How SMC Is Run Like WAL-MART)

"Where did this money go if few AET students received jobs, scholarships, or an adequate education? Where is that over $1.25 million given to AET from then Governor Pete Wilson in 1997? Why did the theme park entertainment and entertainment business occupational certificates meet untimely deaths? Was the $8.8 million paid to the Gemological Institute of America for the AET satellite campus worth the taxpayers' money? And why was there a surplus of donations according to the Santa Monica College Foundation tax returns? Why did those scholarships never reach the AET students? Why can't SMC find the $200,000 Mary Pickford Foundation endowment?" -- Des Manttari (January 2006)

"At Santa Monica College, the Chair of the Board of Trustees long ago traded her gavel for a durable rubber stamp. Margaret Quiñones and Piedad Robertson found a way to turn that rubber stamp into an ATM." -- Carl Gettleman & Phil Hendricks (October 2004) [AET Money Tree of Wasteful Spending]

"It is becoming Santa Monica Corporation. Everything is about money and numbers, and education is not what they are about anymore. Santa Monica College has become a slave ship for some administrators and faculty, particularly the part-timers, to the detriment of the students." -- SMC Professor Debbie Tataranowicz (December 1999)

"Further, it is the information and belief of some students that the college purposely hid the importance of the Accreditation Team from the student body in a conspiracy to brainwash the Accreditation Team into a whitewash over a pattern of deteriorating student conditions and a wide-range of facts that could point to criminal and civil improprieties by the administration against student interests. ... Dr. Peidad Robertson blackmailed and extorted the student government to secure her Public Relations Account. ... The college is collecting illegal fees from students adding up to hundreds of thousands of dollars every year." -- Ryan Flegal, SMC Student Body President (Spring 1998, "Administrative Misconduct" Report to Dr. Robert Agrella, California State Accredtitation Team)

SAVE SMC: GENERAL SITE OVERVIEW

A Demand for Fiscal and Moral Accountability

As a public institution, Santa Monica
College must be both fiscally and morally accountable to its
people. The college must disclose its records under the California
Public Records Act and its must keep its meetings open.
However, SMC has has not only failed to comply, it has retaliated
with a vengeance. A formal report shockingly revealed hidden funds
and widespread distrust. The Los Angeles District Attorney has recently
cited the college for violations.
Read Our Mission Statement ...

Phoenix Genesis SAVE SMC Blog
covers a wide range of political & legal issues.
Compare game schools or read the inside scoop on the game biz.
Search our blog index and
advanced search database for more info.
on Santa Monica College and AET. The financially
lucrative and ever-growing video game industry is ripe for abuse
and we are dedicated to acting as its moral and legal watchdog.
We've just celebrated our first birthday on September 14, 2006.
Read More ...

SMC's lawsuits are a sad testament to
its unwillingness to adhere to our rights. SMC has
violated free speech clauses, due process, faculty contracts, and
other state and federal laws, including those against harassment
and discrimination. SMC's litigation machine is well-oiled by several
large law firms that bill out at hundreds of dollars an hour, some for
decades on end. How much does all this litigation ultimately cost the taxpayer?
Read More ...

What was Sony Executive Hope Boonshaft's role in
establishing AET? Which state grants did
she secure for the purpose of building a "trained digital workforce?"
Did Boonshaft help to obtain the $1.25 million infusion of state funds
from then Governor Pete Wilson? Why did an animation vocational school hire two
former presidential advisors as key consultants? Was it their ability
to lobby in Washington, D.C. that made them so appealing?
Read More ...

In spring 2006, Professor Jim Keeshen published online in his ET2 Storytelling
course syllabus that he both produced and directed the
Family Guy pilot pitch. The credits to the pilot clearly state that it was "created,
written & directed by Seth MacFarlane." To make matters worse, Keeshen
passed out copies of the Family guy scripts, calling them a "piece of shit."
And Keeshen did all of this after he sued MacFarlane and Fox
Broadcasting.
Read More ...